Originally Posted by roachboy

paranoia is a great motivator, particularly of worthless theaterical actions.

all you need, really, to achieve a mindset in which such nonsense as that undertaken by the miami pd makes sense is a mantra like ustwo's--"the threat is real"--for that matter, so is the threat of being hit by a meteor, of being injured in a rain of frogs, of spontaneous combustion--worst, there is the ongoing danger posed by the possibility that the plastic madonna you bought at some gas station will start weeping and then next thing you know you'll have legions of catholics sitting in lawn chairs all over your property.

yup. paranoia and its twin hysteria are great motivators: for the re-organization of military intelligence gathering to include domestic surveillance under the guise of the "war on terror"...

arbitrary displays of the capability various police departments have to move about in formation are designed to counter hysteria by turning it up. apparently, the right wants to be sure that all the social "muscles" associated with hysteria are in tip top condition---that way, if another attack were to happen, the population would be limber and prepared to bend over before any and all manly assertions of the state's monopoly on "legitimate violence" just as ustwo has.

if you are in such condition, it is easier to see some rationale behind such arbitrary displays of the ability of an urban police department to move about in formation, and from there to acquiesce to any and all such displays, and not worry about their implications. and for conservatives, this limber/toned set of muscles associated with hysteria apparently even allow for a curious modulation in their views of the state: irrational in every economic and social context, the state is suddenly rational and unerring when it comes to displays of potentials for organized violence, so long as these actions come complete with cool uniforms and manly radio communications.

so when the state regulates economic activity, it is bad bad bad; but when the state organizes displays of its paramilitary police organization and tactics, the right goes all soft inside. this must appear to make sense from the posture of bent-over acquiescence. from any other viewpoint, it seems inverted--be suspicious of the state when it is not exercizing violence, but trust it when it is.

but of course "the threat is real"....and so hysteria is required...the fact that the american petit bourgeois is willing to trade away anything and everything for the illusion of safety should deter any conceivable "terrorist" threat.

but if you think about it, who really needs terrorists if this social group is willing to trade away everything already, simply as a function of its fear of possible attacks?